I died. Not in the philosophical sense—literally. The memory of my body losing heat, of my blood slowly draining… it was still vivid. I couldn't tell if these memories belonged to a physical body or something more spiritual. Maybe the distinction didn't matter anymore.
I never believed in heaven or hell. On the contrary—I always thought that after death, you'd just enter a sleep-like state. An eternal sleep. …Wait. Should I be asleep now? Floating in this infinite space, unconscious forever? Maybe that's normal… and I'm just a cosmic mistake. A cruel joke of the universe. Maybe if I tried to sleep again, this error would correct itself.
Who am I kidding? [Selecting a random, compatible state of existence…]
What if… I'm not actually dead? What if I never existed? What if my memories are just a shadowy echo, with no real origin? Man… that's bizarre.
[DING… Saint Graph selected.]
[Converting soul into data and implementing it into the spiritual foundation…]
Weird feeling. Like I'm being poured into a spiritual blender, only to be rebuilt into something entirely different. This… reminds me of the Ship of Theseus paradox. If everything in me is replaced… am I still me?
[DING… Process complete.]
[Enhancing conceptual capacity and granting performance upgrade to Saint Graph.]
[DING… Process complete.]
If I were to be reborn, I'd want to be born into a rich family. Or maybe as a free bird. …No. Terrible idea. Some birds are dumb, full of parasites, and have too many predators. That's gross.
[Converting legends, feats, and abilities into personal skills…]
[ERROR.] [ERROR.]
[The individual has no classifiable legends, feats, or abilities, not even at the lowest rank.]
…Fair enough. [Searching for alternatives…]
In the end, it doesn't even matter. If I reincarnate, I'd stop being me, right? After all, what defines us are our memories. …Or not? If someone hits their head and loses all their memories, are they no longer themselves? And if that person is married? Should their partner leave them because they "aren't the same person"? And if they don't… is that betrayal?
[Alternative found!]
[Converting ability into data and printing it onto Saint Graph…]
[Process complete.]
[Ability obtained: Nen — Rank EX.]
Something's very wrong. I mean, more wrong than floating conscious in a post-death limbo.
[Analyzing Saint Graph compatibility with Nen…]
[Compatibility: 3%.]
[Note: Low adaptation rate for an entity without a fixed identity.]
An entity without a fixed identity…? Hey, that's offensive.
[Searching for alternatives…]
[…]
[Alternative found. Reducing ability parameters…]
[Nen — Rank C- confirmed.]
[Reanalyzing compatibility…]
[Compatibility: 87%.]
[Note: High adaptation rate for an entity without a fixed identity.]
…How the hell am I talking? There's no air here. I have no mouth. Every second this place gets weirder.
[Implementing Nen (Rank C-) into the entity without a fixed identity…]
[Processing…]
[Process complete.]
Woah—What the hell was that!? Nen!? If I still had a brain, it definitely would have turned to mush and dripped out of my nose. A supernatural energy? That shouldn't exist. It's illogical. …Well. Keeping an ego after death isn't exactly logical either.
[Converting space #456623A into a natural setting similar to the Hero's Throne…]
[Process complete.]
Suddenly, the empty space changed. It wasn't a drastic transformation—but something began to exist there. And inexplicably, it made me feel comfortable.
[Conceptually enhancing the Hero's Throne…]
[Enhancement complete.]
[Hero's Throne will now be referred to as "The Hero's Seat."]
[Connected to all possible realities.]
[Certain concepts activated.]
What are those lights…? They look like stars. At the same time… like fireflies. Touching one wouldn't hurt, right…?
[DING…]
[You've answered your first invocation.]
[Molding spiritual core… Selecting compatible class…]
[Compatible class selected: Caster.]
[Granted abilities:]
— Item Construction (Rank C)
— Territory Creation (Rank E-)
— Self-Replenishment (Rank B)
And then—The chattering entity vanished in a bright light.
---
Mitene Union — NLG
Ponzu deeply regretted every choice that had led her here. Everything had gone horribly wrong. Her friends were killed by the Chimera Ant, and almost all her bees were wiped out. The few that remained had been sent away for help, leaving her defenseless. Even if she had triple the number of bees she once had, she would still be easily defeated.
As she ran through the forest, she could hear laughter, as if all of this were a game. Her desperation grew by the second. She knew the creature was merely playing with her, hunting her like prey, mocking her.
"Still… there's still time! Maybe, if I hide… maybe it won't find me."
Ponzu clung to that tiny spark of hope. She swore to herself that if she survived this, she would never put herself in unknown dangers again.
Bang.
A sharp shot echoed. In less than three seconds, Ponzu realized she had been hit in the left leg. With urgency, she kept running, though her speed slowed due to the injured leg. She continued fleeing.
Tears threatened to fall, but she refused to cry! She had to be strong. She definitely could not die here. Her heart filled with hope.
Bang.
Another shot rang out, this time hitting her right leg. Ponzu rolled several times before coming to a stop. Hope instantly turned to despair. Nearby, a reptilian humanoid approached. It was humanoid enough for Ponzu to read its expression.
"Kihihi~"
Ponzu's eyes filled with tears. She crawled away with her legs disabled, but it was useless resistance. She knew the creature would devour her alive, just like it did with her friends.
"SOMEONE…! PLEASE, SAVE ME…!"
Ponzu had no choice but to scream for help, though she knew she would never be saved.
The reptilian creature smiled wider. Its prey was screaming in despair, and it delighted in it, as if it had discovered the purpose of its life.
It already knew its next steps: first, it would further immobilize her, then begin devouring her piece by piece.
"Kihihihi…!"
It approached slowly. As her screams grew louder, a red glow followed by a tattoo appeared on the back of Ponzu's hand. Suddenly, a circle with strange symbols emerged. A brighter light shot from the circle, causing the reptilian to jump back several meters, covering its eyes.
Like the reptilian, Ponzu had no idea what was happening. She had just noticed the red mark on her hand. At first, she thought it was a mysterious enemy ability, but the next moment, she knew it wasn't.
She felt a connection forming, stronger than when she used Nen with her bees. She sensed her Nen being absorbed perpetually, while also understanding the purpose of the strange tattoo on her right hand.
The light faded, and the magical circle gave form to a boy around 9–10 years old, with slightly curly red hair and cobalt blue eyes, at least 30 cm shorter than Ponzu.
The boy suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Ponzu.
"Caster Servant, Erick Redwalker, I answered your call. Tell me, are you my master?"
Ponzu had no time to respond. She raised her right hand. The tattoo on her hand flared red.
"BY THE COMMAND SEAL, CASTER, GET US OUT OF HERE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, AND DON'T STOP UNTIL WE'RE SAFE!"
In an instant, Erick scooped Ponzu into his arms, reinforced her legs with Nen, and fled, leaving the reptilian stunned.
---